Mid-Season Review

The Edmonton Elks have had a rough season so far and currently sit at the bottom of the West Division with a record of 2-5. Some ups and downs should have been expected with a first-year head coach in Jaime Elizondo, but the team is running out of time to get things figured out if they want to make the playoffs.

Edmonton’s offense has played well at times and currently leads the league in yards (2,761). Before missing time due to a neck injury, quarterback Trevor Harris was near the top of the leaderboards for passing stats and is now ranked 5th in the league in both passing yards (1,481) and passing touchdowns (6). Additionally, running back James Wilder Jr is currently 2nd in the league in rushing yards with 588. The defense has played well throughout the first half of the season, allowing the least amount of yards in the league (1,494), but ultimately the entire team as a whole has been struggling to finish games.

Top Players

Offense

• Trevor Harris – QB – 126/170 (74.1% comp) 1,481 Yds – 6 TDs – 5 Ints
• Taylor Cornelius – QB – 41/64 (64.1% comp) 577 Yds – 3 TDs – 5 Ints
• James Wilder Jr – RB – 103 Car – 588 Yds – 2 TDs – Avg 5.7 YPC / 25 Rec – 32 Att – 193 Yds – 1 TD – 149 YAC – Avg 7.7 YPC
• Greg Ellingson – WR – 34 Rec- 45 Att – 480 Yds – 1 TD – 134 YAC – Avg 14.1 YPC
• Derel Walker – WR – 32 Rec – 51 Att – 398 Yds – 0 TDs – 168 YAC – Avg 12.4 YPC
• Shai Ross – WR – 16 Rec – 21 Att – 225 Yds – 3 TDs – 75 YAC – Avg 14.1 YPC
• Mike Jones – WR – 21 Rec – 28 Att – 310 Yds – 2 TDs – 67 YAC – Avg 14.8 YPC

Defense

• Nyles Morgan – LB – 33 Total Tackles – 1 Sack – 1 Forced Fumble
• Trumaine Washington – DB – 31 Total Tackles – 2 Ints – 47 Yards – 1 TD – 1 Forced Fumble
• Jake Ceresna – DL – 16 Total Tackles – 3 Sacks
• Thomas Costigan – DL – 16 Total Tackles – 3 Sacks
• Mike Moore – DL – 12 Total Tackles – 2 Sacks
• Kwaku Boateng – DE – 8 Total Tackles – 2 Sacks

Special Teams

• Sean Whyte – K – 18/21 FGs – 85.7% – Longest 52 Yds – 11/11 C1 Att

Predictions

With the lineup of upcoming games for the Elks, it will be challenging to turn things around. They’ll face a very hot Blue Bombers team in Weeks 10 and 11, have a Week 12 bye, host a game against the Ti-Cats in Week 13, play back-to-back games against the Roughriders in Weeks 14 and 15, and finally close out the season with away games versus the Argonauts and Lions.

On top of the already challenging schedule, the Elks final 2 games of the season will be played 3 days apart, both in week 16. The reasoning for this is due to Elks players testing positive for Covid-19 earlier in the season, causing their game against the Toronto Argonauts to be rescheduled.

It will be an uphill battle, but they have a talented group of players based on the team’s stats this season. If they are going to figure things out, they’ll have to do it quickly, as every game is a must-win from here on out. If they continue to have the same issues in the back half of the season, the team will surely miss the playoffs.